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Mortal Gods: “HVT” is an original story set in the universe of Mortal Gods. I am publishing this short story serially here at Liberate Liberty and simultaneously at Liberty Island Magazine. I will publish a new chapter each week (normally Mondays) until I complete the story.

Click on the “Mortal Gods HVT Serial” tag at the bottom of the post to view all the chapters of, Mortal Gods: “HVT.” Foreword:Note: This story takes place after the events of, “Like Hail and Fire, Mixed with Blood,” in the book, Mortal Gods: Ignition.Chapter 3:
Adam returned to his quarters and stayed there until someone contacted him on the landline phone in his room. He soon was back in the series of hallways of the underground facility.
This time his feet made a louder sound on the clean floor, with his boots pounding out a dull thud. He didn’t pass anyone on his way to his destination this time.
He wore a black tactical uniform. The RMD had specifically designed it for him and while it bore a resemblance to a m…

The Stought Brothers: “The Mystery at the Market” is an original story for middle grade (ages 8-12) readers. I am publishing this short story serially here at Liberate Liberty and simultaneously at Liberty Island Magazine. I will publish a new chapter each week (normally Mondays or Tuesdays) until I complete the story.

I’m publishing the story under the pen name, Gunner B. Summit.
Click on the “The Mystery at the Market” tag at the bottom of the post to view all the chapters of, The Stought Brothers: “The Mystery at the Market.” The Stought Brothers: “The Mystery at the Market”
By Gunner B. Summit Chapter 2:
Reggie and Heathcliff entered the Lagos Tranquility General Hospital with their parents. The owners had invited their father, Dr. Geoffrey Stought, to visit the facility. He was a world famous physician who specialized in brain surgery. He was going to perform a surgery on a patient here. The other doctors would watch and learn how to do it.
Cordelia was Geoffrey’s wife and the boys…

The Stought Brothers: “The Mystery at the Market” is an original story for middle grade (ages 8-12) readers. I am publishing this short story serially here at Liberate Liberty and simultaneously at Liberty Island Magazine. I will publish a new chapter each week (normally Mondays or Tuesdays) until I complete the story.
I’m publishing the story under the pen name, Gunner B. Summit.
Click on the “The Mystery at the Market” tag at the bottom of the post to view all the chapters of, The Stought Brothers: “The Mystery at the Market.” The Stought Brothers: “The Mystery at the Market”
By Gunner B. Summit Chapter 1:
Rasheed al-Tikriti walked down the hospital hallway in Lagos, Nigeria. He smiled at people as he passed them. Otherwise he looked at the room numbers. And he noticed how many nurses where at the nurse stations. He kept track of other details too. He had worked here long enough that he was even becoming familiar with some of the scuff marks on the tiled floor. He didn’t need to notic…

Mortal Gods: “Russia” is yet another story that I am writing. I don’t know when it might be ready for publication but I hope sooner rather than later. Aside from being a tale for the times, it also is a great way to write creatively about the U.S., Russia, and national security.

“Russia” is a story starring Adam and Victoria White. It is set after the events of “The First Transgender Superhuman” in Mortal Gods: Ignition. During this time, the U.S. government issues Adam and Victoria a letter of marque and reprisal to hunt down the people who supported overthrowing the U.S. But this mission is interrupted when the government comes to Adam and Victoria with another assignment: find out who attempted to steal and sell U.S. intelligence on a very sensitive matter.
Adam and Victoria take this assignment and ultimately find a Russian connection. (This connection helps introduce readers to a new character in the Mortal Gods universe.) And as the story progresses, Adam and Victoria discover t…

“They Haven’t Given Women the Best Opportunity to Succeed” is currently scheduled to be a one-shot short story. But it could evolve into a series. One of the unique things about it is that while it is a story first, it also serves as a vehicle for something else I’ve long had in mind: fiction as a means of intelligence forecasting.
Nothing in the story is meant to forecast exactly how things will turn out in real life. However, elements in the plot are meant to show potential things that could happen. One might even say it is a worst-case scenario. Or maybe it isn’t a worst-case scenario—just a really bad one.
Women in combat. Women are “badass.” Tiny women can beat up large men in movies. Even young girls can now beat up large men in movies. Society has spoken. It wants women to be just like men and it wants to sweep away all the old rules regarding the male-female relationship. Very well. “They Haven’t Given Women the Best Opportunity to Succeed” agrees with society that there is n…

“Letters of Marque and Reprisal” is a light-hearted espionage story (intended to be a series) and I am about ready to start serially publishing it even as I don’t yet know when the begin date might be. Here is more of what you can expect from it.
This story follows a group of people employed by a business that ostensibly runs a Christmas tree farm. The company is headquartered in Pennsylvania, on the East Shore of the Harrisburg metropolitan area near Hershey. And while it actually does farm Christmas trees, it has another reason for existing: it’s a cover for a private military company that has received letters of marque and reprisal from the U.S. government to hunt down and neutralize national security threats.
The story opens by quickly introducing the main characters and then they are off on their first mission. They deal with all the normal things that people deal with when starting a new job, egos and distrust included. Yet they must overcome these challenges and work together …

Mortal Gods: “HVT” is an original story set in the universe of Mortal Gods. I am publishing this short story serially here at Liberate Liberty and simultaneously at Liberty Island Magazine. I will publish a new chapter each week (normally Mondays) until I complete the story.
Click on the “Mortal Gods HVT Serial” tag at the bottom of the post to view all the chapters of, Mortal Gods: “HVT.” Foreword:Note: This story takes place after the events of, “Like Hail and Fire, Mixed with Blood,” in the book, Mortal Gods: Ignition.Chapter 2:
The room was a small waiting room and a nurse in a white, skirted uniform was standing behind the reception desk in anticipation of him. She was above-average in height for a woman. But the six-foot, five-inch tall Adam towered over her.
“Mr. White. Please follow me,” she said, almost making it through those five words without her voice breaking. She hurried out from behind the desk and then to a door inside the waiting room. She opened it and held it long e…

Galatea, Inc.: “Mexico” was the first story set in the Galatea universe that I started writing. And it might be the first one I start publishing. The outline is basically done and I can probably start writing and publishing the manuscript serially. As the title suggests, the plot involves Mexico—specifically a threat from Mexico with the protagonist working to thwart it from his undercover status as a scouting and resourcing agent for the modeling organization, Galatea, Inc.
Galatea, Inc. is a universe where women are everywhere. What I mean by this is that female characters will normally outnumber male characters. People complain about there not being enough female characters in storytelling. So I resolved this complaint by making the protagonist (David Warfield) an undercover private intelligence operative at a modeling agency. The agency is called Galatea, Inc., with various locations for various purposes in Manhattan, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. Most of Warfield’s bosses and cowo…

“The Most Powerful Soldier in the World” might end up being a series within the universe of Galatea, Inc. Or it might not be. If it is, it will be a sub-series of the universe that focuses on a particular character. And while it will adhere to the Galatea, Inc. rule of having more-than-normal female characters (something my other writings likely will have as well), it will be a bit more grounded than other tales in this particular universe. This series also has the potential to address a lot of real-world challenges in unique but realistic ways. Here’s more about it.

The story opens with a brief prologue and then switches to Yemen. Jeremiah Quinn is an enlisted soldier in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and he deals with both the expected and unexpected in the war zone. And during this deployment, one of the unexpected things that happens causes him great trouble and also eventually leads to a major life change, which subsequently leads to how he winds up with the title of the …

Fictional authors, critics, and readers often want to know, “What’s the character’s motivation for doing what he does?” And many times this leads to authors creating some devastating backstory for the character: his parents were murdered, he lost his wife on his wedding night, he was bullied as a child, or some other tragic happening. Doing this makes for excitement and pathos. But at the same time, it means the hero (if he is a hero) is only doing what he does for personal reasons. Adam White, of the Mortal Gods universe, doesn’t do what he does because of personal tragedy. He does what he does because it’s the right thing to do.
I haven’t yet gotten around to telling Adam’s backstory and so there is much unsaid about it. But what I do know is that he doesn’t come from a dysfunctional family, broken home, abusive childhood, or anything similar. Indeed, he comes from a strong family, with a father and mother who married and stayed faithful to one another. In fact, if anything, the co…

With the first installment of Mortal Gods: “HVT” published, I want to explain some rules I have for myself on the stories I publish for free. The rules deal with how I serially publish, and how I am leaving open the possibility of editing the stories in the future.
The rule that applies to Mary Worth, Rex Morgan M.D., Mark Trail, Prince Valiant, and other similar, serialized comic strip applies to my serial stories: the episodic nature of them may mean that installments don’t always end where they seem they should end.
For instance, in the first installment of “HVT,” we only meet the protagonist (Adam White). There is no introduction to the other characters, and no introduction to the main plot. This can sometimes seem jarring but I believe readers can get used to it. After all, it has worked for comic strips in newspapers all these years. (Plus, readers always have the option to binge read after I have published a few, or all, of the installments.)
The second rule I have is that I m…

Back in January I mentioned I was working on completing the first story for what eventually could become a series of books under the umbrella title, The Stought Brothers. I hope to start serially publishing the first story next week.

I previously incorrectly identified this story and potential series as being for young adults. It actually is aimed at middle grade readers (ages 8-12). It is a minor mistake but one worth correcting.
Again, The Stought Brothers is about a family (dad and mom; two sons) who travel the world since the father is a doctor of renowned skills. As they travel abroad (and during times when they are back in the U.S.) they have adventures. They experience other cultures and may even encounter some real-world events.
My plan is to publish one installment per week of the first story. I will simultaneously publish it at BarbWire, here at Liberate Liberty, and also at Liberty Island Magazine.
The first story will serve as a test. This means, in part, I’ll simply tell…

Mortal Gods: “HVT” is an original story set in the universe of Mortal Gods. I am publishing this short story serially here at Liberate Liberty and simultaneously at Liberty Island Magazine. I will publish a new chapter each week (normally Mondays) until I complete the story.

Foreword:Note: This story takes place after the events of, “Like Hail and Fire, Mixed with Blood,” in the book, Mortal Gods: Ignition.Chapter 1:
Adam walked down the long hallway. He had one more exam to get through before he was to go to the briefing that would tell him what his first mission would be.
The hallway was clean and modern, with a shiny black floor, navy blue metallic walls, and covered fluorescent lights overhead that were spaced evenly between the white ceiling tiles. He passed many identical doors to rooms that contained offices, laboratories, and who knows what else. Each one had a plaque on the wall next to it. The plaque contained the room number and the name of the group currently assigned to th…

In a story that fits with current times, the in-progress, Mortal Gods: “Presidential Pardon” will deal with subversion and espionage, national security, injustice and justice, and the power of the presidential pardon.

Spying and treason accusations are all the rage in the news. So “Presidential Pardon” will be a short story in the Mortal Gods universe that will fit right in with the times. There will be espionage and betrayal in the story, with some people supporting it and others opposing it. There will be accusations of injustice followed by demands for justice. Some people become very outraged with what has happened and this leads to further conflict between characters.
Adam White is again the protagonist of this tale and through it all he will face difficult circumstances where he must make tough choices.
So how does the power of the presidential pardon factor into the plot? You’ll have to read the story to find out. I’ll only say that it is an important factor throughout the tal…

Mortal Gods: “Sodom by the Susquehanna” is one of the stories I have been working on since last year, and I have provided updates on it several times here at Liberate Liberty. Essentially, I have reached the point where I am ready to start serially publishing it.

I announced that my plan is to start serially publishing Mortal Gods: “HVT” next week. So that story is taking precedent. However, I want to start publishing “Sodom by the Susquehanna” as soon as possible as well. So what I would like to do is get at least the first few installments of “HVT” published, and once I’m confident that I will be able to publish that in full by way of one installment per week, then I can start serially publishing “Sodom by the Susquehanna.”
“Sodom by the Susquehanna” may have a more irregular serial publication schedule than “HVT.” In other words, whereas “HVT” should have one installment per week until I publish the entire story, I may not get one portion of “Sodom by the Susquehanna” out every wee…

Mortal Gods: “HVT” is the next story coming from Liberate Liberty, with the plan being to publish it serially here at Liberate Liberty and also at Liberty Island Magazine. I have the first installment currently scheduled for early next week. Here is a tease of what the story is about.

The story takes place sometime after the events of the short story, “Like Hail and Fire, Mixed with Blood,” which is part of the Mortal Gods: Ignition book. The government has recruited Adam White to work in a brand new unit (that is not connected to any real-world DOD or intelligence community unit). The government doesn’t know much about him but even so, it knows it wants to take advantage of all his unique skills and abilities.
So what exactly does the government plan to do with Adam? Many things likely, with the first story showing one way—a unique way that addresses a real-world challenge by using the abilities that Adam has.
And this is going to be one of the fun things about, Mortal Gods: “HVT.” M…

Prose stories do not require artwork. However, prose stories struggle to find an audience without it. And what good is a story if no one is reading it? So here is the latest on the forthcoming artwork for the forthcoming tales from Liberate Liberty—here is what it will be as of now and here is what it can be if enough people support the stories.
I commissioned original artwork for both Mortal Gods: Ignition and Winning through Losing. The total of four separate commissions cost a significant amount of money. But it was worth it for those books. I’d like to commission more artwork for forthcoming stories (more of which I will post about this week—including how the first story will begin its serial publication this week or the next) but I need to make sure there is the demand for it.
So as of right now I’m creating the artwork for my latest work. I’m teasing excerpts of some of it above and in the images below. Some of what you see now might be different in its final form. And some of …